Fostex PM641

The PM641 is a three-way monitor and has the mid-range driver and tweeter sitting next to each other on a horizontal axis above the woofer. This serves to minimise the physical height of the enclosure box.

The rear of each cabinet is dominated by a large finned heat-sink adjacent to the connection sockets, which are an XLR and a 1/4-inch TRS jack. There’s also a pair of three-way switches to change the response.

Performance-wise, the bass end is impressive and kick drums come fat and rounded. We'd describe the mids and top-end as ‘smooth’ - there's no hype or harshness here - and it feels like you could use these on long sessions without fatigue.

The PM641s might cost more than some of the budget options, but just shy of £400 is not a bad price to pay for a nicely practical three-way monitoring system.